Akwa Ibom State government has said the non-availability of petroleum products in the state is a product of artificial scarcity.

The state government therefore called on residents not to engage in panic buying. The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers of Nigeria (NUPENG) has embargoed supply of petroleum products to the state with effect from July 23, 2018.

This is aside the industrial action embarked upon by NUPENG in solidarity with some of her members who were affected in the downsizing exercise by Universal Energy Resources Ltd, a private oil-servicing firm.

In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Petroleum Matters, Obong Essien Esema, said: “The government warns all petroleum marketers in the state not to see the crisis as an avenue to engage in profiteering by hoarding or hiking pump price of petroleum products, especially petrol as there is no justification to do so. The government will do all within the law to resist such illegal activities in the state.”